Elastic keyring

ABSTRACT

A keyring having a body in the form of a wide, flat, continuous loop of cloth-covered elastic material which is circumferentially stretchable, with individual elastic key attachment loops on the outside of the body loop which are adapted to circumferentially stretch along with the body. The keyring is generally soft and flexible for easy and comfortable carrying in purse or pocket, and is circumferentially stretchable for engagement over the hand and attachment about the wrist for convenient and comfortable carrying of the keyring while shopping, while carrying groceries or other packages, or while engaged in sporting activities.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Sylvia J. Mosher 6633 Berquist,Canoga Park, Calif. 91304 [21] Appl. No. 777,703 [22] Filed Nov. 21,1968 [45] Patented Sept. 14,1971

[54] ELASTIC KEYRING 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 70/457 [51] Int. Cl A441 15/00 [50] Field of Search 2/67,311, 3 12; 24/3; 40/21, 21 A, 21 B, 21 C; 63/1 1, 14; 70/456 A, 456 B,457, 458, 459; 150/40; 224/25, 26, 28

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,298,621 3/1919 Wrigley40/21 2,463,309 3/1949 Prince 2/67 2,473,113 6/1949 Steere 2/3122,779,026 1/1957 Rosecrans,Sr.

Primary Examiner-James A. Leppink Assistant Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe Attorney-Albert L. Gabriel ABSTRACT: A keyring having a body in the formof a wide, flat, continuous loop of cloth-covered elastic material whichis circumferentially stretchable, with individual elastic key attachmentloops on the outside of the body loop which are adapted tocircumferentially stretch along with the body. The keyring is generallysoft and flexible for easy and comfortable carrying in purse or pocket,and is circumferentially stretchable for engagement over the hand andattachment about the wrist for convenient and comfortable carrying ofthe keyring while shopping, while carrying groceries or other packages,or while engaged in sporting activities.

PATENTEDSEPI 419?: $604,232

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5Y1. v/n J. Mos se MMM/ ELASTIC KEYRING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Keysare conventionally carried on either a rigid ring or a beaded flexiblering, or in a holder such as a leather folder within which the keys aresuspended. Typically, two or more keyswill be carried together. Suchconventional keyrings or folders haveseveral disadvantages which areovercome by the present invention. Thus, because of the awkwardness ofplacing'car keys in a purse and then finding them again out of thepurse, women frequently hold car keys in their hands when walking fromcar to house, or while shopping, and this often results in the keysbeing dropped and lost.

Conventional keyrings or folders present a particularly difficultproblem for persons who are engaged in sporting activities in which theyare wearing clothing which does not have pockets for receiving the keys,or wherein it is difficult to keep a purse or other carrying meanshandy. Thus, while it is desirable and sometimes essential to carry carkeys while at the beach, or while swimming, boating or engaged in othersporting activities, nevertheless there is usually no satisfactory meansforsafely holding the keys under such circumstances.

Another problem in connection with conventional keyrings or folders isthat most ofthem contain generally rigid portions, or hold the keys in agenerally fixed or rigid positioning, whereby the keys tend to poke andbe uncomfortable when carried in the pocket, and occupy an undesirablylarge amount of space in pocket or purse.

While there have been several prior art attempts to provide a keyringwhich is essentially engageable over the wrist, such devices have beengenerally unsatisfactory and have not come into general use because theyhave all constituted attempts to add a key-carrying capacity to braceletdevices which are generallyconventional in the jewelry art, and havethereby become quite complicated and expensive, have involvedundesirable rigid-parts, and have resulted, in general, in a poorcompromise between an item of jewelry and a key-holding device, notbeing really satisfactory for either purpose. A principal fault of suchprior art attempts to provide a key-holding bracelet was that suchdevices were designed to at all times be worn on the wrist, and were notgenerally suitable for being carried in the purse or in a pocket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of these and other problems in the art,it is an object of the present invention to provide an elastic keyringwhich is adapted normally to be carried as a conventional keyring in thepocket or purse, but which is also adapted to be stretchably engagedover the hand and about the wrist at times when it is desirable to havethe keys handy, or when it is inconvenient or impossible to carry themin a pocket or purse.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an elastiekeyringof the character described which is made principally of cloth-coveredelastic material, and is free of any major rigid portions, whereby thekeyring is comfortable when worn on the wrist, and has an overallflexibility which allows the keyring to fold and flex into a relativelysmall space when in the P9Ckt or purse, for comfortable and convenientcarrying.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible keyring of thecharacter described which is particularly simple in construction andeconomical to produce, is easy to operate, with minimum troubleattaching keys thereto or removing 'keys therefrom, and which isattractive in appearance and can be worn on the wrist by a man or awoman without embarrassment.

According tothe invention, the keyring is based on a body intheform of awide, flat, continuous loop of cloth-covered elastic material which iscircumferentially stretchable to be engaged over the hand and onto thewrist. Individual elastic key attachment loops are provided on theoutside of the body, and these attachment loops are alsocircumferentially stretchable along with the body so as to not interferewith the easy engagement of the ring over the hand and onto the wrist.

According to one form of the invention a series of discrete keyattachment loops are provided along the outside of the body by means ofan elongated, elastic attachment band which extends through a series ofspaced transverse loops on the body. According to another form of theinventionaseries of discrete key attachment loops is providedcircumferentially along the outside of the body by the permanentconnection of an elastic key attachment band at spaced intervals aboutthe body, as by means of stitching.

with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective viewillustrating one form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevational view taken on the line2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating asecond form of the invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 in FIG.3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIGS. 1 and 3, but illustratinga third form of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6-6in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring at first to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing,the keyring which is there illustrated is generally designated 10, andincludes a body 12 which is in the form of a wide, flat, continuous loopof cloth-covered elastic material. The material of which body 12 is madeis preferably, but notnecessarily, a garter-type material which islongitudinally, or in this case circumferentially, stretchable, andwhich comprises an interwoven mesh of elastic strands and cloth whereinthe surface or covering portion is cloth. The cloth may be provided invarious colors, with bright colors employed in keyrings designed forwomen, and more subdued colors employed in keyrings designed for men.

The body 12 has an inner cylindrical surface 14 which is generallycontinuous and uninterrupted for comfortable wearing about the wrist inany circumferential position. Body 12 also has an outer cylindricalsurface 16, and parallel, continuous side edges 18.

A plurality of transverse retainer loops 20 are regularly spaced alongthe outer cylindrical surface 16 of body 12, being attached by anyconvenient means, as for example by rows 22 of stitching adjacent therespective side, edges 18. These transverse retainer loops 20 need notbe stretchable, although if they are broad as illustrated, it ispreferred that they be stretchable in the direction of the circumferenceof the body 12, in which case the stitching 22 is also preferablyexpansible in the circumferential direction of body 12. Alternatively,the transverse retainer loops may be relatively narrow, in which casethey need not be stretchable circumferentially of the body.

Four of the transverse retainer loops 20 are shown on the keyring 10illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and these are regularly spaced along lessthan half the circumference of the body 12. Alternatively, any number,of these transverse retainer loops 20 may be employed, and they may bedisposed around any extent of the periphery of body 12 that is desired,within the scope of the invention.

A key attachment band 24 extends circumferentially along the outercylindrical surface 16 of body 12 and is engaged through all of thetransverse retainer loops 20 as best illustrated in FIG. 1. One end 26of the attachment band 24 is anchored to the body 12, as by means ofstitching, while the other end 28 is a free end to which a T-typefastener 30.' in the form of a rigid crossbar, is secured. This T-typefastener 30 may be easily passed through the transverse retainer loops20 by bending the T 30 to a position generally alongside and parallel tothe attachment band 24, and when the T 30 is released, it will normallybe disposed at right angles to the attachment band 24 as illustrated inFIG. 2 to secure the free end 28 of the attachment band 24 fromwithdrawal through the transverse loops 20.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 that with the attachment band 24 extendingthrough all four of the transverse retainer loops 20, the attachmentband 24 forms three discrete key attachment loops 31, to each of whichone or more keys 32 may be attached. For illustrative purposes, a singlekey 32 is shown in FIG. 1 as being attached to the intermediate of thethree key attachment loops 31. The key 32 is attached in this positionby bending the T-fastener 30 alongside key attachment band 24, and inthis position sliding the free end 28 of band 24 to the left in FIGS. 1and 2 through the two right-hand retainer loops 20.

Then, the free end 28 of the band, with the T alongside the band, ispassed through the hole in the head of the key and reinstalled throughthe two right-hand retainer loops 20, and the T 30 is then released tosecure the band in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The key attachment band 24 may be round in cross section if desired, ormay be generally flat, but preferably narrower than the body loop 12.The attachment band 24 is longitudinally stretchable so as to beexpansible along with the body 12 when the ring 10 is engaged over thehand onto the wrist. The attachment band 24 is preferably, but notnecessarily, of an interwoven cloth and elastic material similar to thebody 12, with similar or contrasting coloring.

Although it is presently preferred to use a garter-type cloth andelastic band material for the body 12, transverse retainer loops 20 andkey attachment band 24, it will be apparent that these portions of thekey ring 10 may be made of an elastomeric plastic material, with theattachments of the retainer loops 20 and anchored end 26 of band 24 tothe body 12 being made by thermal welding.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a second form of the invention which is verysimilar to the first form shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but employs anattachment band that extends around the entire periphery of the body andattaches to itself. Thus, the key ring 10a illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4includes a continuous loop body 12a similar to the body 12, with aplurality of transverse retainer loops 20a regularly spaced around theentire periphery of body 12a. The key attachment band 24a issufficiently long to extend around the entire periphery of body 12a, andis engaged through all of the transverse retainer loops 200. Both ends260 and 28a of attachment band 24a may be considered as free ends, sinceneither is anchored to the body 120. The band ends 26a and 28a areprovided with mating portions of a jewelers snap fastener 30a, thefastener 30a being coupled as shown in FIG. 3 during the operativecondition of keyring 10a, and being uncoupled for sliding one or both ofthe free ends 260 and 28a out through one or more of the transverseretainer loops 20a for engagement of one or more keys 32a on any of thekey attachment loops 310 formed by the portions of attachment band 24alocated intermediate adjacent transverse retainer loops 20a. One or bothof the mating portions of the jewelers snap fastener 30a aresufficiently small in the transverse direction to be easily passedthrough the hole in the key. It will be apparent that any number of keyscan be conveniently supported on the key ring 1011 in any of a varietyof different positions about the circumference of the ring 10a.

Referring now to FIGS. and 6, these figures illustrate 142 fiat 143against 145 body a third form of key ring generally designated b whichhas a body 12b similar to the bodies 12 and 12a of the first two formsof the invention. However, the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 5and 6 differs from the other two forms by having key attachment band 24bwhich is permanently, fixedly secured about the periphery of body 12b,

as by means of transverse stitching 34. The transverse stitching 34 isapplied in regularly spaced intervals about the periphery of body 12b sothat the attachment band 24b'is arranged in a series of alternating keyattachment loops'3Ib which project radially outwardly from the body 12band intermediate webs 36 which lie flat against the body 12b. Since theattachment band 24b is permanent and the loops 3l'barc closed, a linkring 38, which may be any type of; plastic or metal split ring, isemployed to connect a key 32b to a key at= tachment loop 31b.

It will be noted that in all three forms of the invention shown in theaccompanying drawings and described in detail herein, the portion of thekeyring which is in contact with the wristis continuous, and soft, andis therefore quite comfortable, while the keys are on the outside ofthis continuous band which engages the wrist, and are separated from thewrist by the band.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatare conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims.

Iclaim:

1. An elastic keyring which comprises a body in the form of a continuousloop of soft, flexible material that is elastic in the circumferentialdirection, said body being generally wrist size in its relaxed conditionand being circumferentially stretchable for engagement over the handonto the wrist, and a plurality of flexible key attachment loopsconnected to the outside of said body in circumferentially spacedrelationship, said attachment loops being provided by elongated,flexible band means the longitudinal axis of which is arranged generallycircumferentially of said body, said band means being elastic in thelongitudinal direction so as to be stretchable with said body andcomprising an elongated band member that is connected to said body atspaced intervals along the periphery of the body, said key attachmentloops being formed by respective portions of said band intermediateadjacent connections of the band to the body.

2. An elastic keyring as defined in claim 1, wherein said body is agenerally flat, continuous ribbon of material, and said band member issubstantially narrower than said body ribbon and generally centeredbetween the edges of the body ribbon.

3. An elastic keyring as defined in claim I, wherein said elongated bandmember is connectedto said body at least in part by means of a pluralityof transverse retainer loops mounted on the outside of the body incircumferentially spaced relationship, said band member being engagedthrough said retainer loops.

4. An elastic keyring as defined in claim 3, wherein one end of saidelongated band member is anchored to said body, and the other endthereof has fastener means thereon which is releasably engageable withone of said transverse retainer loops.

5. An elastic keyring as defined in claim 4, wherein said fastener meanscomprises a T-type fastener normally arranged generally at right anglesto said band member so as to secure said other end of the band meansagainst passage through said transverse retainer loops but bendable to aposition generally in line with said band member for passage thereofthrough said transverse retainer loops.

6. An elastic keyring as defined in claim 3, wherein said elongated bandmember substantially completely circumscribes said body, and the ends ofsaid band member have mounted thereon mating portions of a releasablefastener.

7. An elastic keyring as defined in claim I, wherein said band member ispermanently connected to said body at circumferentially spacedintervals, alternating sections of said band member being bent radiallyoutwardly from said body to form said key attachment loops and beingdisposed flat against the outer surface of said body intermediate saidattachment loops.

2. An elastic keyring as defined in claim 1, wherein said body is agenerally flat, continuous ribbon of material, and said band member issubstantially narrower than said body ribbon and generally centeredbetween the edges of the body ribbon.
 3. An elastiC keyring as definedin claim 1, wherein said elongated band member is connected to said bodyat least in part by means of a plurality of transverse retainer loopsmounted on the outside of the body in circumferentially spacedrelationship, said band member being engaged through said retainerloops.
 4. An elastic keyring as defined in claim 3, wherein one end ofsaid elongated band member is anchored to said body, and the other endthereof has fastener means thereon which is releasably engageable withone of said transverse retainer loops.
 5. An elastic keyring as definedin claim 4, wherein said fastener means comprises a T-type fastenernormally arranged generally at right angles to said band member so as tosecure said other end of the band means against passage through saidtransverse retainer loops but bendable to a position generally in linewith said band member for passage thereof through said transverseretainer loops.
 6. An elastic keyring as defined in claim 3, whereinsaid elongated band member substantially completely circumscribes saidbody, and the ends of said band member have mounted thereon matingportions of a releasable fastener.
 7. An elastic keyring as defined inclaim 1, wherein said band member is permanently connected to said bodyat circumferentially spaced intervals, alternating sections of said bandmember being bent radially outwardly from said body to form said keyattachment loops and being disposed flat against the outer surface ofsaid body intermediate said attachment loops.